HF2172 • 2026

A bill for an act modifying testing requirements applicable to pupils who are participating in the education savings account program.

Children Education Parental Rights Taxes

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: FETT
Last action: 2026-01-27
Official status: Introduced, referred to Education. H.J. 157 .
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary and digest do not provide specific details about the process of choosing between state/federal tests or standardized tests, leaving some uncertainty in these areas.

Changing Testing Rules for Education Savings Account Students

This bill modifies testing requirements for students in the education savings account program, allowing them to choose between state and federal tests or nationally standardized tests in math and English.

What This Bill Does

Modifies testing requirements for pupils participating in the education savings account program.
Allows these pupils to take either all applicable state and federal student assessments or standardized, nationally norm-referenced student assessments in mathematics and English language arts.
Requires that test results be provided to parents or guardians of participating students.
Reports student assessment results to the department of education.

Who It Names or Affects

Students who are part of the education savings account program
Parents or guardians of these students

Terms To Know

Education Savings Account Program: A program that allows parents to use state funds for their child's education through various approved expenses.
Standardized, nationally norm-referenced student assessments: Tests that compare a student’s performance against national standards and averages in mathematics and English language arts.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify the process for choosing between state/federal tests or standardized tests.
It is unclear what consequences there are if students do not take either set of assessments as required.

Bill History

2026-01-27 Iowa Legislature
Introduced, referred to Education. H.J. 157 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act modifying testing requirements applicable to pupils who are participating in the education savings account program.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

House

File

2172

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

2172

BY

FETT

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

modifying

testing

requirements

applicable

to

pupils

who

1

are

participating

in

the

education

savings

account

program.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

TLSB

6113YH

(1)

91

jda/jh

H.F.

2172

Section

1.

Section

257.11B,

subsection

11,

paragraph

a,

1

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

a.

Each

pupil

participating

in

the

education

savings

account

3

program

is

required

to

take

all

one

of

the

following

sets

of

4

student

assessments:

5

(1)

All

applicable

state

and

federally

required

student

6

assessments

and

the

.

7

(2)

Standardized,

nationally

norm-referenced

student

8

assessments

in

mathematics

and

English

language

arts

in

the

9

same

grades

as

comparable

tests

are

administered

under

the

10

federal

Every

Student

Succeeds

Act,

Pub.

L.

No.

114-95.

11

b.

The

results

of

those

the

assessments

shall

be

provided

to

12

the

pupil’s

parents

or

guardians

and

reported

to

the

department

13

of

education.

14

EXPLANATION

15

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

16

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

17

This

bill

modifies

testing

requirements

applicable

to

pupils

18

who

are

participating

in

the

education

savings

account

program.

19

Current

law

requires

each

pupil

participating

in

the

20

education

savings

account

program

to

take

all

applicable

state

21

and

federally

required

student

assessments.

The

bill

modifies

22

this

provision

to

provide

that

each

such

pupil

is

required

to

23

take

either

all

applicable

state

and

federally

required

student

24

assessments

or

standardized,

nationally

norm-referenced

student

25

assessments

in

mathematics

and

English

language

arts

in

the

26

same

grades

as

comparable

tests

are

administered

under

federal

27

law.

28

-1-

LSB

6113YH

(1)

91

jda/jh

1/

1